Ontario weighs recreational marijuana consumption in hotels

Ontario is considering following in Alberta’s footsteps by allowing hotel owners to permit recreational marijuana consumption in guest rooms, Marijuana Business Daily has learned.

Such a move could create significant business opportunities around marijuana tourism in the province.

According to the current proposed rules, it would be legal to use recreational cannabis only in private residences.

Under Bill 174, the updated Smoke-Free Ontario Act applies to tobacco and vapor products, medical cannabis and “other products and substances that may be prescribed” in the regulations.

But the government is now considering whether to align the act with its approach to the smoking and vaping of recreational cannabis in hotel rooms, according to a spokesperson from the attorney general’s office.

Under Ontario’s current proposal, medical cannabis could be consumed in hotel rooms under the same conditions that apply to tobacco:

A person is a guest in the hotel.

A room has been designated for smoking and is primarily a sleeping accommodation.

A room is fully enclosed by floor-to-ceiling walls, a ceiling and doors that separate it physically from any adjacent area in which smoking or vaping is prohibited.